El Nido is easily one of the most beautiful places that I’ve been to. The view from our hotel was nothing short of spectacular, showing off the big limestone cliff that towers over the town, as well as a glimpse of the surrounding islands and other cliffs. Our opposite window showed us the dense, hilly lush jungles on the inland side of Palawan island. The town itself is a small, tourist friendly little corner nestled between tall cliffs and a small beach with yet again, a stunning view of the sheer limestone cliff islands near the town proper.

El Nido became known to the greater world only in the 1980s, when a group of divers was stranded there overnight on their boat and woke up to the amazing scenery. The area has been inhabited for thousands of years and has been used by the Chinese in the past for collection of bird’s nests, a prized commodity which lends El Nido its name (literally “the nest” in Spanish). Spanish explorers decided to name it in honour of the prized nests collected in the area and the name stuck around to this day. Nowadays they don’t really collect nests anymore, but tourism is booming in the little town and sparsely populated surrounding area.

There really is a sense that the town is struggling to keep up with the rapid growth resulting from many excited tourists posting Instagram photos and blog posts about the region (I am in part to blame here). There is one circuit breaker for the town and when it shuts off, the power goes out. This happens a lot and public electricity is only available from 2pm to 6am, which is why most hotels have generators (which also overheat and shut off on occasion). Water is a similar conundrum, so many hotels and resorts turn to building their own water pumps from local springs. At the same time, with the infrastructure literally hanging on strings and struggling to keep up, the town has seen rapid growth. Travelers to the region say that it was a quiet, sleepy fishing village as recently as 2009, but I can confirm that this is not the case anymore. Foreign owned restaurants and shops are slowly pushing to become the majority of establishments, and most waterfront property consists of such restaurants and resorts/hostels for tourists.

You can find anything from authentic Greek to Ukrainian to Arabic cuisine in this tiny little town, made largely from delicious local ingredients but at a tourist-priced premium. A curious stand-out for me was Odessa Mama, a Ukrainian restaurant making very authentic Ukrainian/Russian cuisine fused with local ingredients like seafood pelmeni (dumplings), pitas stuffed with island grown meat and veggies, and fresh squeezed calamansi lemonade. You can easily find a moped to rent (come early though or they will all be reserved), and one will cost you from about 400 to 600 pesos per day (slightly higher than average in the Philippines, personally I wouldn’t pay more than 500 in El Nido).

The surrounding islands are definitely one of the greatest marvels of the world and are best visited through one of the organized tours that can be booked in town from many different companies (A, B, C and D). The price is usually anywhere from 1000 to 1500 pesos per person as of 2017. We got very sick during our stay here (just our luck) and only managed to do tour A, however having spoken to other visitors we have concluded that the best tours to take are A and C. Not all the beautiful parts of El Nido province are out at sea, however. There are many areas on the mainland that are no less beautiful and well worth exploring.

If you want to squeeze as much adventure as you can into one day, I recommend the following activities. These can easily be broken up into separate days, as this is a pretty packed itinerary. Rent a moped early in the morning (better yet, reserve it the night before). This is much cheaper than taking a tricycle to all of the below mentioned places, but if you are uncomfortable riding yourself, you can probably strike a deal with a trike driver in town (negotiate with the driver or you’ll get ripped off!!!). Your first stop involves hiking to Nagkalit-kalit waterfalls. This has to be done with a guide as the road is confusing (200 pesos per person). The hike itself is easy (mostly flat) but you cross nine streams in the process, so wear shoes that you aren’t afraid to get wet because they will 100% get wet. I brought flip flops which worked out great. Next, relax after the hike by riding to Nacpan beach, a beautiful, almost untouched stretch of white sand beach that goes on for kilometres.

There is a marked turnoff to the left a few kilometres after the waterfalls. Take note that the last stretch of road is unpaved and will get bumpy, but if you ride carefully and slowly you will do fine. I made it there safely on my first time ever riding a moped, with my girlfriend on the back. This beach is amazing in that it is massive but mostly empty, the only busy part is right next to the moped parking area where you can find a few basic beach bars to have a drink and a snack. Sadly, a resort has bought up the land on the south side of the beach for future construction and you will get whistled at by guards if you try to enter, but as of 2017 the north side is still completely quiet and deserted and a great place to bathe in solitude. Nude swimming anyone? The hill that you’ve seen in some blogs about Nacpan Beach is also part of the private property and is now off limits, but at the end of the day it’s only a small part of a remote, almost empty, picture perfect tropical beach.

As a side note, beaches and islands in el Nido are protected by the Philippine government and you will be charged a small environmental fee to enter (I believe it’s 100 pesos). You will be given a receipt valid for ten days, make sure you keep it as the island tours also usually include the price of this fee. It’ll save you some money. If you book an island tour first, make sure you ask for the environmental fee receipt to keep for future tours and exploring. Ask for and keep your receipts! It’s required by law in the Philippines.

• 

• 

On the way back through the rice fields and jungles of El Nido province you can stop by Lio beach next to the airport, where we found a brand new resort development that was still under construction when we arrived. This resort set to open in 2017, and it looks like it’ll have a beach pier and shopping/food for non hotel guests as well. This massive development is one of the signs that El Nido is going to grow significantly in the coming years as tourism continues to expand.

If you make it back to town before 5, continue south on your moped last the town proper to Las Cabañas beach where you can take a zipline (500 pesos) over the water to an island which is partially connected to shore at low tide. Last I checked, you have to show up to the place by 5pm to be allowed to zipline. It’s hidden in the forest and a bit tricky to find, so it might be best to park at the main Las Cabañas beach parking and walk for about 15 minutes to get there. This will probably be easier than climbing back up the hill to get your motorbike from the top of the zipline. After zipping your way down, make your way to the resort on the tip of Las Cabañas/Maremegmeg beach and sip an ice cold drink as the sun sets over the ocean, surrounded by El Nido’s unique and enchanting scenery.